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Baseball Blogs Weigh In: EE, Pirates, D-backs, O’s, Jays, Phillies, Astros

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This week in baseball blogs:

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Royals Sign Bobby Parnell, Three Others

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The Royals have signed righty reliever Bobby Parnell to what is presumably a minor league deal, according to Matt Eddy of Baseball America. Parnell is an ACES client.

The 32-year-old Parnell once served as a prominent reliever and then a closer for the Mets, but he has struggled to get his career back on track after having Tommy John surgery early in the 2014 season. He signed a minor league deal with the Tigers prior to the 2016 season and posted middling numbers in Triple-A. He did make it to the Majors, only to struggle in six outings before being released. His fastball velocity, however, did increase to an average of 94 MPH, one mile per hour higher than in 2015 with the Mets and a bit closer to the high-90s velocity he had in his prime.

Also among the Royals signings (again, presumably of the minor league variety) not already previously noted in this space are lefty Jonathan Sanchez, infielder Brooks Conrad and outfielder Ruben Sosa. The 34-year-old Sanchez did not pitch competitively in 2016 after being released by the Reds in Spring Training. He was a longtime cog in the Giants’ rotation and 786 1/3 big-league innings, a no-hitter, and a 2010 championship ring to his name. He has not appeared in the big leagues since struggling in five outings with the Pirates in 2013, however, and he’s frequently struggled with control issues, with a 5.0 career BB/9. He briefly played for the Royals in 2012.

Conrad, 36, played for the independent Sugar Land Skeeters in 2016 and hit sparingly. His last significant minor league action came in 2015 with the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate in Las Vegas, where he batted a modest .194/.280/.319. In parts of six seasons in the big leagues, he’s hit .200/.271/.389 in about one full season’s worth of at-bats while playing mostly second and third.

The 5-foot-7, 26-year-old Sosa spent several years in the Astros and Angels systems and never established himself as a top prospect, but he likely caught the Royals’ attention with a strong showing in the Mexican League in 2016. In 314 plate appearances with Laguna, he batted .371/.458/.517 with 22 stolen bases, impressive numbers even in a hitter-friendly context.

Padres Re-Sign Brett Wallace, Sign Craig Stammen And Christian Villanueva

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The Padres have re-signed corner infielder Brett Wallace to what would appear to be a minor league deal, Matt Eddy of Baseball America tweets. Wallace is a client of MVP Sports Group. The Padres also made a number of other signings, including righty Craig Stammen and corner infielder Christian Villanueva.

The 30-year-old Wallace collected 256 plate appearances with the Padres in 2016, batting a meager, .189/.309/.318. That showing plus Wallace’s below-average defense made him worth -0.8 fWAR last season. The Padres, perhaps unsurprisingly, outrighted Wallace last month rather than taking him through the arbitration process.

The 32-year-old Stammen spent parts of seven seasons on the Nationals’ staff (with a career 3.91 ERA, 6.8 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9, with even better career numbers as a reliever) before struggling with injury issues in 2015. He signed a minor league deal with the Indians prior to the 2016 campaign but did not debut until late June and ended the season with Triple-A Columbus, finishing his season with a 3.62 ERA, 9.2 K/9 and 1.6 BB/9 across three minor league levels.

Villanueva, 25, was once a top prospect in the Cubs system, but they non-tendered him after he missed the entire 2016 campaign after breaking his leg in Spring Training. He batted .257/.314/.438 with 20 home runs in 536 plate appearances split between Double-A and Triple-A in 2015.

Cubs Sign Fernando Rodriguez, Four Others

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The Cubs have signed righty reliever Fernando Rodriguez, presumably to a minor league deal, Matt Eddy of Baseball America reports. Rodriguez’s agency, J.M.G. Baseball, tweeted last week that their client had agreed to terms with an NL club. The Cubs have also added second baseman Jemile Weeks, catcher Ali Solis, lefty Daniel Moskos and shortstop Elliot Soto, also presumably on minor league deals.

The 32-year-old Rodriguez has pitched for the A’s for the last three seasons, most recently posting a 4.20 ERA, 8.2 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9 in 40 2/3 innings in 2016. The Athletics outrighted him in October, likely thinking ahead to the tender deadline — Rodriguez has five-plus years of service time and would have been eligible for arbitration. Rodriguez had shoulder surgery in September, although typical recovery time would have allowed him to resume throwing by around now.

The 29-year-old Weeks collected 57 plate appearances with the Padres in 2016 and hit sparingly, missing much of the season to a hamstring strain. The former first-round pick is a career .271/.372/.373 hitter at the Triple-A level.

Solis is a 29-year-old, glove-first journeyman who’s made brief big-league appearances with the Padres and Rays. He played last season in the Red Sox system.

Moskos, now 30, is best known for being the fourth overall pick in the 2007 draft. He pitched last season for the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate in El Paso, posting a 3.39 ERA, 6.9 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 over 61 innings of relief.

The 27-year-old Soto came up in the Cubs system but spent last season with the Marlins’ Triple-A club in New Orleans, batting .241/.358/.297 and splitting his time between second, shortstop and third.

AL East Notes: Stottlemyre, Yankees, Red Sox, Encarnacion

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Former Yankees pitcher and Mets, Astros, Yankees and Mariners pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Sr. is “fighting for his life,” one of his sons, former big-league pitcher Todd Stottlemyre, writes on Facebook (via ESPN). Mel Stottlemyre, 75, announced in 2000 that he had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma. Stottlemyre was the Mets’ pitching coach for their World Series win in 1986, and the Yankees’ pitching coach for four World Series champion teams. He also won five All-Star berths in 11 seasons in the big leagues. We at MLBTR wish the best to the Stottlemyre family in this difficult time.

Here’s more from the AL East.

  • The Yankees and Red Sox could play one another in London as soon as 2018, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald writes. What seems even more likely at this time is that the Red Sox, Yankees and possibly Mets could all play in London at some point over the course of the new five-year CBA. It’s unclear whether a Yankees/Red Sox matchup in particular will occur, and there are significant issues that must be ironed out first, including the problem of lost gate receipts, as well as how to continue to sell Major League Baseball to Europe after such a marquee matchup has already occurred. But presidents of both teams express enthusiasm for the idea. “We would really like to do it,” says Red Sox president Sam Kennedy. “The Yankees have been at the forefront of suggesting that we bring the great game of baseball to London,” writes Yankees president Randy Levine in an email. “Playing the Red Sox in London would be a special and unique event.”
  • Edwin Encarnacion’s departure to Cleveland has many Blue Jays fans upset, with some blaming the team for not finding a way to re-sign Encarnacion and others blaming Encarnacion for seeking too much money early in the process, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi writes in a fascinating timeline of the negotiations between Encarnacion and the Blue Jays. As had been previously reported, the Jays offered Encarnacion a four-year, $80MM deal in early November; Davidi notes that deal also included a vesting option that would have increased the value of the deal to $100MM. Encarnacion, though, didn’t want to take a deal on the doorstep of free agency (as his agent, Paul Kinzer, admitted earlier this week). As free agency opened, the Jays believed Encarnacion was seeking $100MM and judged from his lack of urgency to move on the Jays’ initial offer that he had another suitor in the $80MM-$100MM range, which wasn’t the case. The Jays thus moved quickly to sign Kendrys Morales, and took their $80MM offer off the table. The two sides remained in touch, but with Morales and Steve Pearce in the fold, the Jays weren’t as strongly motivated to sign Encarnacion, and he ended up with Cleveland.

Marlins Could Be Done Making Significant Moves

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With their signings of Brad Ziegler and Junichi Tazawa now complete, the Marlins could be done making significant moves this offseason. Here’s the latest from out of Miami, courtesy of the Sun-Sentinel’s Tim Healey:

  • The Ziegler and Tazawa signings, and the subsequent DFA of Elvis Araujo when the Ziegler deal became official, leave the Marlins’ bullpen heavily right-handed, with Hunter Cervenka as the only lefty reliever remaining on the team’s 40-man. But president of baseball operations Michael Hill doesn’t sound concerned about that. “Handedness didn’t come into play as much as finding the highest quality [reliever],” Hill says. Even Cervenka is not guaranteed a spot in the bullpen, with Hill saying Cervenka will compete for a spot in camp. Teams typically carry at least one lefty reliever, although not carrying any is hardly unprecedented, since many righties can be effective against opposite-handed batters — the 2004 Angels, for example, had perhaps baseball’s best bullpen that year despite receiving just two total innings of lefty relief. And Tazawa, for example, has been quite effective against lefties in his career.
  • The bullpen has become increasingly crowded, and the Marlins have discussed whether to go with a seven-man bullpen or expand it to eight.
  • The Marlins also are not overly concerned about finding a platoon partner for lefty-hitting first baseman Justin Bour, Hill says. “There’s not that clear-cut complement at first base, but I think in the growth and maturation of Justin Bour,” Hill says. “[Manager Don Mattingly has] talked about trying to challenge him more and expose him more to left-handed pitching.” The 28-year-old Bour has hit .223/.273/.291 in 103 career plate appearances against southpaws. The team could, however, give righty-hitting catcher J.T. Realmuto occasional plate appearances at first, potentially giving the Marlins the chance to sit Bour against some lefties. “If there is a way to deepen our bench, we’ll look at it,” says Hill. “But I think as we sit right now, we would be comfortable as we are currently situated.”

Blue Jays Have Considered Trading For Andrew McCutchen

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The Blue Jays have “kicked around” Andrew McCutchen’s name as they attempt to address their outfield, ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports (all Twitter links). Pirates GM Neal Huntington recently said the team was likely to keep McCutchen after trade negotiations with the Nationals fell through. But, Crasnick writes, the Jays are one of several teams who are still interested in the Pirates’ star.

The Blue Jays have Kevin Pillar, an exceptional defender, in center field, so McCutchen would likely move to a corner if he were to be traded to Toronto. That might be best anyway, since McCutchen’s declining speed helped result in dreadful defensive numbers in center last season, leading to talk about him moving to a corner even if he stays in Pittsburgh. (His positioning might also have been a factor in his poor defensive stats.)

McCutchen posted a .256/.336/.430 line last season, with all three figures representing career lows. Still, the Pirates’ price to move him will be high — he’s still just 30 and has two years of relatively cheap control remaining, and his outstanding pre-2016 performances and strong hitting over the last two months last season inspire hope for his future. The discussions with the Nationals reportedly included top pitching prospect Lucas Giolito as well as another good prospect, Dane Dunning, both of whom later went to the White Sox in the Adam Eaton deal.

Since then, though, the Pirates have agreed to re-sign Ivan Nova, and been connected in trade talks to star White Sox lefty Jose Quintana. Their outlook now might be somewhat different than it was a month ago, as they now might be more focused on contending. Last week, Fan Rag’s Jon Heyman wrote that the Pirates wanted MLB-ready talent in return if they were to trade McCutchen.

The Jays, of course, recently lost Edwin Encarnacion to the Indians via free agency. It remains unclear which players they might use to lure the Pirates to trade McCutchen — their farm system, headed by shortstop Richard Urena, righty Sean Reid-Foley and outfielder Anthony Alford, is decent but not outstanding. The Jays acquired two of their other top prospects, catcher Reese McGuire and outfielder Harold Ramirez, with Francisco Liriano in a summer trade with the Pirates seemingly designed to help the Bucs shed Liriano’s salary.

Beane On Athletics’ Pursuit Of Edwin Encarnacion

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Before Edwin Encarnacion agreed to a three-year deal with the Indians, the Athletics made a surprisingly strong push to acquire him, offering Encarnacion a higher average annual value of $25MM, although at a shorter term. Top A’s exec Billy Beane shares the details of his team’s pursuit of Encarnacion, courtesy of Joe Stiglich of CSN Bay Area.

“We just lost out at the end,” says Beane. “The process was a lot of fun because those are not guys we’ve been in on the last few years.”

Encarnacion preferred to play in Cleveland rather than Oakland, since Cleveland would be a closer trip for his family to visit from the Dominican Republic. Beane says the Athletics were aware of the difficulty of signing Encarnacion, but says he represented too good an opportunity to pass up.

“We knew we’d face some headwinds going in,” says Beane. “But again, we saw this as a unique player. … [W]e thought was that type of player who would have served as a real good anchor point with our young pitching and some of our other young players.”

One factor behind the Athletics’ pursuit of Encarnacion, Beane says, was the franchise’s ownership situation. Last month, Lew Wolff sold much of his ownership stake, and John Fisher took over as managing partner.

It appears the team’s play for a big-name free agent in Encarnacion could be its last for a time, however. Stiglich emphasizes that the team’s biggest need right now is in center field, and there aren’t currently any free agents at that position who would justify a large expenditure. Instead, the team will likely look to the trade market as well as the free agent market to find a center fielder.

5 Key Stories: 12/17/16 – 12/23/16

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Here are the five biggest stories here at MLBTR this week.

"<strongIndians to sign Edwin Encarnacion. The Indians agreed with the slugger on what’s reportedly a three-year, $60MM deal that also includes a club option, edging out the Athletics and Rangers. The move ended what’s been a frustrating free agent period for Encarnacion and his agent and potentially cleared the way for the signings of other power bats like Mark Trumbo, Chris Carter and Jose Bautista (who is reportedly willing to consider a one-year deal). Earlier this week, 30% of you thought the Indians would land Encarnacion.

Pirates to re-sign Ivan Nova. Ivan Nova seemingly benefited from being traded to Pittsburgh at last year’s deadline, and this week, he agreed to re-sign with the Bucs for the surprisingly low price of three years and $26MM. Nova’s market was surprisingly quiet this offseason, even though he looked like one of the best free agent starters. The Pirates also added a hard-throwing reliever this week, inking Daniel Hudson to a two-year deal. And they’re reportedly still trying to acquire star White Sox lefty Jose Quintana to further bolster what suddenly looks like a much-improved pitching staff.

Phillies acquire Clay Buchholz. The Phillies bolstered their young rotation, acquiring veteran righty Clay Buchholz from the Red Sox for minor league second baseman Josh Tobias. Phillies GM Matt Klentak says he had begun talking to the Red Sox about Buchholz months before the deal actually occurred.

Braves extend Ender Inciarte. The Braves agreed to a five-year deal, plus a club option, to potentially keep outfielder Ender Inciarte for two extra seasons. Inciarte, meanwhile, will receive a guaranteed payout of $30.525MM. “We are thrilled to announce an extension for Ender,” said Braves GM John Coppolella. “We feel that he’s the best defensive center fielder in baseball and one of the best leadoff hitters in the game.”

Angels sign Ben Revere. The Angels have signed outfielder Ben Revere to a one-year, $4MM deal, and it appears he’ll platoon with Cameron Maybin in left field.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jose Bautista Willing To Consider One-Year Deal

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Veteran slugger Jose Bautista is willing to take a one-year contract, according to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. There’s something of a catch, though: per the report, “he wants it to be at a higher value than the qualifying offer.”

It seems, then, that Bautista would need to see something greater than $17.2MM on an offer sheet for the 2017 season before he’s willing to give up his pursuit of a lengthier pact — at least at this stage. Notably, the report does not suggest that the organization has shown any movement on its part; at last check, Toronto had yet to indicate a willingness to exceed the value of the QO that it previously extended, and Bautista declined. As Passan puts it, “the next move is the Blue Jays’.”

Passan explores in great detail why a reunion with Toronto makes sense, particularly in a single-season scenario; you’ll want to give his breakdown a full read for that reasoning. Indeed, with former teammate Edwin Encarnacion now off the market, the path is perhaps cleared for Bautista (and other defensively limited power bats) to find their own landing spots. And the Jays’ lineup surely is still in need of some pop, especially in the outfield, as the team’s current depth chart shows. Bautista wants to return to the place where he finally found his stride as a ballplayer, too, a source informs Passan.

It’ll be interesting to see whether this new bargaining position for Bautista changes the calculus for Toronto (or other organizations). Much of the risk in his profile lies in his age (36); though he took a step back in the power department last year, he also dealt with some injuries and still maintained his top-of-class plate discipline. All told, Bautista still generated a strong .234/.366/.452 batting line with 22 home runs in 517 plate appearances. In that regard, the demand for a salary in excess of the QO does not seem startling; coming into the winter, after all, expectations were that he could find a multi-year contract with an AAV in that ballpark.

Other market markers seem relevant here, too. Carlos Beltran landed $16MM from the Astros on a one-year term, while Matt Holliday got $13MM from the Yankees. It’s certainly arguable that Bautista is a bigger prize than either of those players, though neither required draft compensation. (For Toronto, the club wouldn’t punt one of its existing picks, but re-signing Bautista would mean surrendering its rights to a compensatory choice.)

At the same time, teams eyeing power bats no longer have quite as many names to choose from, particularly if they prefer an outfield-capable player. The younger but less-accomplished Mark Trumbo is perhaps the biggest remaining competition on the free-agent market, which still includes other options such as Mike Napoli (who is limited to first base) and Brandon Moss (who hits from the left side). On the trade side of the equation, J.D. Martinez can presumably still be had, though we haven’t heard much indication that anything will come together on the Tigers star. There are a variety of other free-agent outfielders, including recent Toronto teammate Michael Saunders, though none feature anything approaching Bautista’s offensive track record.

From the demand side, plenty of hypothetical suitors remain for Bautista and his market competition. We ticked through some of them recently in this post. As the recent bidding for Encarnacion shows, there could still be an appetite on the market for multi-year pacts with significant value, as well as creative, shorter-term deals at high average annual values. But just how much demand exists for the older Bautista — whose platform season wasn’t as promising as that of his long-time teammate — remains unclear.

In prior years, we’ve seen players settle for one-year deals after turning down qualifying offers, though in most instances they took less than the value of the offer itself. (This was the case for players such as Ian Desmond, Dexter Fowler, Kendrys Morales, and Stephen Drew.) Ervin Santana agreed to a $14.1MM deal with the Braves in advance of the 2014 season, matching that year’s QO value, though he had to wait for spring injuries to land that contract. Only Hiroki Kuroda was able to beat the qualifying offer on a single-season pact; in November of 2012, he inked a $15MM contract after turning down what was then a $13.3MM QO. Unlike those situations, however, the new rule preventing multiple qualifying offers from being extended to a single player would prevent the Blue Jays or another team from lining up possible draft compensation after the 2017 campaign.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

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